Tech Insider visited JK Plastic Surgery, one of South Korea's leading cosmetic centers, to learn more about why plastic surgery is so central to the culture.

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JK is located in Apgujeong, a riverside area in Gangnam, Seoul.

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It sees about 10,000 patients a year.

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Half of them are international.

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Dr. Hang-Seok Choi, plastic surgeon and director at JK, walked us through a few of the most popular operations in Korea and explained why plastic surgery is so huge there.

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"Eyelid surgery is obviously the most popular surgery," Dr. Choi says. Unlike many Westerners, most Koreans have "monolid" eyes, which means there isn't an eyelid crease. Some see the double lid as a sign of beauty — though others argue it comes from an idealization of Western norms.

JK Plastic Surgery

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"Most Koreans don’t have a double eyelid line, so in that case, sometimes they look sleepy and tired," he says.

JK Plastic Surgery

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"Ladies want to have beautiful look, defined look," says Choi. Multiple clinics we talked to say that the double eyelid is the most popular by far, since it's cheaper and has a shorter recovery time than other operations.

JK Plastic Surgery

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According to Choi, Koreans previously elected mostly to have facial surgeries.

JK Plastic Surgery

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But more recently, body contouring has become popular.

JK Plastic Surgery

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As have breast surgeries, which Dr. Choi specializes in.

JK Plastic Surgery

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Anti-aging surgeries — like face lifts and hair rejuvenation — are also popular.

JK Plastic Surgery

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But why is plastic surgery — as extreme as restructuring the jawline — so common?

JK Plastic Surgery

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Korea is a very competitive society, Choi says, and people are pushed closely together.

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Half of Korea's population lives in Seoul, a city that has the 6th-highest population density on earth. So you're confronted with other people's images all the time.

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It's widely agreed that people who look better have an advantage in the job market, Dr. Choi says, especially since your photo is included in your résumé for most jobs.

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It's not just women; Choi says that 15% to 20% of his clinic's clients are men.

JK Plastic Surgery

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Dr. Choi says that the future of cosmetic surgery depends on two things:

Dr. Choi doesn't think that plastic surgery will become as prevalent in the US as it is in Korea. Since the US is so much more ethnically diverse and physically spread out, there isn't the same pressure. "Nations have a different need for beauty," he says.